


Walking on Land

by Hinn_Raven



Series: Bat Lagoon [2]
Category: DCU, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Asexuality, Babies, Crack Relationships, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2014-05-22
Packaged: 2018-01-26 01:52:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1670327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hinn_Raven/pseuds/Hinn_Raven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cass tries to figure out what to do for her anniversary with La'gaan, and consults her friends and family for advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walking on Land

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ameliafromafairytale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameliafromafairytale/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Mary! Thank you so much for being such a great friend. As a present for you, have a little something I whipped up—a continuation of Swimming Lessons, featuring a bunch of cute fluff and some gen fic on top of more Cass/La’gaan cuteness.

Cass first learns about the importance of anniversaries from Jason and Donna.

Cass still doesn’t pretend to understand everything about Jason and Donna, especially not now that they’re parents. They’re chaotic and confusing, contradictory and yet strangely consistent.

She’s supposed to babysit Baby Catherine tonight, and she’s really terrified, since this is going to be her first time alone with the tiny baby.

“Cass!” Donna pulls open the doors and sweeps her into strong Amazonian arms. Cass lets her, hugging back tightly. Donna smells of her special occasion perfume—a gentle jasmine scent that Donna gave her for her birthday last month, in a pretty pink glass container. Donna finally pulls away, smiling brightly. She’s dressed to be seen tonight, with a shimmery silver dress. Her blue eyes are outlined carefully, with gentle curls upward at the edges—Steph has tried to teach Cass to do eyeliner, but it always ends in hilarious failure.

“Hey Ninja,” Jason calls from the kitch. He’s dressed in a sleek black suit, although it’s unbuttoned, with his tie looped freely over his shoulders instead of tied into a neat knot around his neck. One shoe is on, the other on in his hand as he stands on one leg, trying to put it on. The reason that he’s not crouching to achieve this is made obvious when Cass enters the room—Cathy is clinging to his leg, dressed in her Batman onsie, gurgling cheerfully.

Donna laughs, sweeping her daughter up into her arms, pressing her against the expensive fabric of her dress. “Let your father dress,” she scolds, but her eyes twinkle, and Cathy giggles, pudgy fingers tugging on the thick waves of Donna’s hair.

“Thanks Donna,” Jason says, looping his red silk tie around his neck, tying it into a hasty knot with assured fingers that would make Alfred proud. He smooths down the lines of his red waistcoat, which is complete with a silver watch chain, and then buttons up his jacket. “I think she knows we’re going out tonight.”

“Smart girl,” Donna coos, pressing her finger against Cathy’s nose.

“Thanks for doing this Cass,” Jason says, casually placing his muscled arm over her shoulders. “We’d ask Alfred, but zeta isn’t cleared for infant travel yet.”

Jason and Donna didn’t live in Gotham, much to Bruce’s eternal consternation. Jason had frequently expressed the opinion that the city was bad for his mental health, and Donna completely was in agreement. Their New York City apartment was close enough to Gotham, but it still worried Bruce that he couldn’t keep a constant eye on Jason. Or, probably equally importantly in his eyes, his first grandchild.

“No problem,” Cass says, hoping she is sucesfully hiding how nervous she is. “What is the occasion?” Jason and Donna rarely go out, preferring movies at home and their baby to the hectic city life. They even take turns going on patrol, leaving Cathy with at least one parent every night.

“Our anniversary,” Jason says.

“Anniversary?” Cass asks, brow furrowing. “Of what?” Her grasp of the English language is continuously improving, but she still doesn’t understand many cultural concepts or idioms, which is surprisingly common on the Team.

“Our first date,” Donna says, lifting Cathy up into the air and smiling at the nine month baby.

Cass freezes, trying to think of the calendar. “That’s… important?”

Jason and Donna exchange glances, wide eyed. “Somewhat?” Jason says, clearly trying to be casual and utterly failing, his voice rising slightly as he panics. “Some people don’t make that big of a deal out of it, y’know, it’s not really important…”

Cass frowns at him. “La’gaan and my… ‘anniversary’ is next week, Jason.”

He slumps slightly in relief. “Anything flies for anniversaries,” he reassures her. “Well. Almost anything. Babs wasn’t fond of the disco bar.”

“And with that dig on Dick’s over-fondness for the 1970s, we need to go. Call Dick if you need back up,” Donna pecks Cass on the cheek, deposits baby Cathy in Cass’s waiting arms, and scoops Jason up in a bridal carry. “We better hurry.” She leans down and kisses Jason quickly before leaving.

Cass tilts her head. “Hello?” She says to Cathy, who squints up at her with tiny blue eyes.

“Ca!” The baby declares, waving pudgy fingers towards Cass’s face. Cass smiles down at the child. It is actually rather adorable…

Cass wrinkles her nose. “You are gross,” she tells Cathy, holding her at arm’s length.

The baby giggled.

* * *

An hour later, Dick Grayson receives a phone call from his little sister.

“Cass? Everything alright?” He tenses, prepared to make a leap for the zeta tubes. Babs, on her computer across the room from him, rolls her eyes and continues talking to Helena and Artemis about a mission.

“Are babies… no. Is  _Cathy_  supposed to fly?”

He falls over. “Cathy’s  _flying_?”

“Floating? Hovering? Levitating? She is not on the ground.” Cass sounds stressed.

Dick lets his head fall back and laughs. Apparently Amazonian powers  _were_ inheritable. “No, don’t worry—that should be fine. Uh, just, take some pictures for Jason and Donna. They’ll probably want to see that.”

“Okay?” Cass says. “Uh… Twitter?” Dick has taken it upon himself to teach Batgirl to use social media. She’s garnered a rather large following, even if Babs has to check every tweet before it’s posted. She mostly posts selfies with beat up bad guys and pictures of Gotham skyline. It’s adorable.

“Not this time.”

“Okay.”

* * *

Cass consults Steph about what to do for La’gaan for their anniversary.

“You could take him out to eat?” Steph suggests, curling her legs beneath her, draping her purple cape on the back of her couch. “Someplace nice—Alfred can get reservations, he knows  _everyone_ , and there’s only about a ninety five percent chance that a villain will interrupt—” Suddenly she stops talking. “Oh. Right. That whole—” Steph makes a motion that probably is meant to indicate La’gaan’s horns, but also resembles the motion she makes when mocking Batman. “Thing.”

“Thing. Yes.” Cass nods, glad Steph remembers how La’gaan is not exactly normal-looking. Cass doesn’t mind, but people do, and that bothers La’gaan.

“Um, you could cook?”

“Not allowed,” Cass says morosely. “Alfred says I am a… a ‘menace’ unless there is supervision.”

“Hmmm.” Steph purses her lips and thinks. “You could ask Bruce to like, let you guys use the yacht. Go see a reef somewhere.”

“Yacht in Gotham. Reef far away.” Cass shrugs.

“Darn. Um. Movie night? Wait, that’s a normal date for you guys. Every weekend. Have you guys watched  _every_  fish documentary on Netflix by now?”

“Yes. They are pretty.”

“That is so adorable. You two are adorable. Your cuteness overwhelms me, I think I’ve got a cavity, you two are so sickenly sweet. Hey! You could go scuba diving!”

“Done that.”

“Well, aren’t you guys thorough? I’m out of fish related anniversary ideas. We should consult Zatanna, I bet she’ll have… other ideas.”

“Other ideas?” Cass spots something in Steph’s body language that she isn’t sure that she likes.

“Y’know!” Steph makes a vague gesture in the air, and then frantically looks around, like she does when she thinks Batman is about to materialize out of the shadows and loom at her menacingly—it happens with surprising frequency, so Cass doesn’t blame her best friend for her paranoia. Steph lowers her voice, so Cass has to lean in to hear her. “Sex stuff.”

“We don’t do that.” Cass says.

Steph looks at her. “You don’t do that, as in, you don’t want to, or as in, it’s not allowed?”

“Don’t want to,” Cass says with a shrug. “It sounds… messy.”

Steph splutters, and then starts to laugh, giggles forcing their way through her teeth. “Oh  _man_  that’s great,” she says, wiping her eyes. “So you’re asexual?”

“Um…” Cass wasn’t sure what that word meant.

“You, uh, don’t experience sexual attraction, but you still, like, have romantic attachments—well, that’s a whole different thing, I think there’s a chart somewhere. It’s a thing. Like, how Zatanna is bisexual, which means she likes two or more genders, and like, um, Renee! Remember Renee? She’s homosexual, which means she likes only girls.” Steph is rambling, and realizing it. She cuts off with a blush, ducking her head slightly in apology. “Okay, sorry. That was stupid. Is La’gaan the same?”

Cass nods.

* * *

“So let me get this straight,” Babs says, looking at Cass over the rims of her new glasses—they have black wire rims and also function as yet another computer surface for Babs to rule the world (or at least the Justice League) from. “You want me to requisition the  _highly_  experimental and confidential holo-rings that Karen and Victor have been working on—so you can go on a date with La’gaan.”

“First anniversary?” Cass tries. “Could ask Zatanna.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, O,” Mal says in his deep, soothing voice, placing one of his large hands on Babs’ shoulder. “Karen’s been looking for an excuse to do some field testing anyway.”

Cass grins at Mal, who winks at her. It was a good idea to recruit Mal to her mission before asking Babs for permission—Babs had a soft spot for Mal and Kaldur, calling them “the only people in this mad house who actually  _think_ — _goddamit_  Wally put that down and back away slowly before I beat you into a coma, you are a genius, why don’t you use that freaking brain of yours to  _not_ cause complete and utter chaos for  _once_ , and maybe, just  _maybe_ , get through a freaking mission without blowing up something and causing an _international incident_. Shut  _up_ , Grayson!”

Cass smiles serenely at the memory and watches as Babs crumples, then gives in. “Fine. One night. I’ll tell Alfred to make reservations for you two. He likes seafood, right?”

“Crabcakes,” Cass says earnestly, nodding. She leaps to her feet and wraps Babs in a tight hug. “Thanks,” she says quietly to her mentor and friend. Babs squeezes her tightly, patting her back.

“No problem,” Babs says gently. “I know it’s hard for you and La’gaan, not being able to go out in public very often.”

Mal ruffles Cass’s hair. “Better go find your boy,” he advises her, raising an eyebrow. “I think Bart had a few questions for him—”

“Oops,” Cass says. Bart and La’gaan get along fine usually, but Bart is _fascinated_  by Atlantis, and when he starts asking La’gaan questions about it, he  _doesn’t stop_. Cass  _knew_  going on a double date with him and Jaime was going to cause this. She kisses Mal on the cheek, (she needs to stand on tip toes to be able to manage it), waves to Babs, and then dashes away to find her boyfriend before he starts to get overwhelmed by an enthusiastic speedster.

* * *

“Happy anniversary!” Cass says, beaming at him, her hands tucked neatly behind her back.

La’gaan blinks at her, eyes wide with shock. “Starfish?” She pulls her hands out from behind her back, revealing the ring.

“Holograph ring,” she says. “Babs got us reservations in Gotham.” She’s already dressed for it, wearing a loose fitting, short black dress that allows her the freedom of motion that she prefers. The sleeves are short, the neckline is high, the fabric is a soft and shimmery silk, and she wears black ballet flats that have silver bows at the end. She grins at him, wondering how she looks to him, dressed up and wearing makeup (Steph and Cassie had helped).

He stares at it, taking it from her hand. It’s silver in appearance, although the real name of the alloy is something Cass can’t pronounce. There are geometric patterns engraved on it—squares and rectangles that probably are what make it work, but it’s very pretty. “We can go out?” He asks, and there’s painful hope in his voice.

“Public,” she tells him. She pauses, taking his hand and squeezing it. “Wish we didn’t need it,” she tells him softly. He looks at her, and there’s something in his eyes that makes her want to either melt or kiss him. She settles for the latter, standing up on tiptoe to press her lips against his.

He grins at her. “I wish we didn’t need to hide either, Starfish, but that’s the life of a superhero for you!” He grins. “Let’s see what I look like then!” He slips the ring on his finger, and he shimmers.

He is tall, with long, dark hair instead of horns. His skin is the same as Kaldur and Mal’s, with a tattoo visible on his upper bicep. She fingers it, surprised that she can see it—usually it only appears when he does his magic. His eyes are brown, which throws Cass off—she is used to the gentleness of his red, pupil-less eyes. “Odd,” she says. “Like normal better.”

He grins at her, something impish in his eyes. “Well, normal La’gaan can’t cause a stir with the paparazzi by taking Bruce Wayne’s daughter out to dinner, now can he?” He kisses her quickly, pulling away with a wide smile that makes Cass ache with joy to see. She’s glad she did this. “Ah, I think I might need to dress up more. He looks down at his normal outfit—a pair of swimming shorts, and grins at her.

She giggles, grabbing his hand and intertwining his fingers with hers, grateful that she can still feel his familiar scales beneath the illusion. He’s still there, her La’gaan. “Got you a suit,” she tells him. “C’mon!” She tugs him towards the zeta tube, wondering what Bruce will say if—when, if Cass is being honest with herself—he sees her picture on the front of the tabloids again. 


End file.
